TALK about violence. Japanese director Miike Takashi isn't extreme. He is off-the-dial.

Just take the tearaway opening sequence - it strings together a gay knife-throwing act, a naked woman plummeting to the tarmac, the longest line of coke in history, a mid-coital throat-slashing in a men's WC, an abdominal explosion of partially digested noodles, and all set to a rampant rock guitar soundtrack. Of course, after this crazed introduction, the film settles into a slightly more conventional pace and story of warring triads and yakuza. For a while at least...

The plot is so familiar that it is barely worth wasting words on: it's a good cop after bad guy scenario with the mandatory turf war and important family loyalties thrown in for good measure. The story really provides an excuse for some extremely violent and often perverse death and destruction. But Takeuchi Riki as the smooth, warring gangleader and Aikawa Sho as the honourable police detective who is out to nail him, are strong enough performers to help prevent this slipping into just another blood-and-guts fest.

Also, while the body count is enormous, the excessive violence is somewhat tempered by Takashi's irresistably perverse humour. Still, not one for the overly sensitive.